Sorcerer’s Handbook

Chapter 443: I Became a Substitute

At 6 AM this morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten and Ashe followed Igor into the bath, everyone’s Gospel Book popped out on its own.

In just four days, the Gospel Book had already updated the fifth ranking list: the Evil Arts Ranking.

As the name implies, “Evil Arts” refers to spellcasting sects considered malevolent.

This definition is actually quite absurd. Even an ogre spellcaster with two brain cells to rub together knows that spells have no inherent moral value; it’s the spellcaster who determines good or evil. For example, the legendary necromancer of the Six Heraldry, who established the Beauty Houttuynia Farm for their family. Regardless of Ashe’s personal views, the Beauty Houttuynia Farm indeed turned Vamora into a happy and prosperous city, greatly increasing the productivity of its citizens. In this context, the Necromancy Sect is unquestionably advanced, just, and good.

Though spells have no moral alignment, the environment in which they are practiced can be good or bad.

Take the Necromancy Sect, for instance. In a heavenly place where everyone is granted immortality and there are no sources of corpses, how can the necromancy be practiced? In such a paradise of immortality, the Necromancy Sect would be classified as evil because practicing necromancy implies murder.

In the Kingdom of the Gospel, evil arts are defined as those spellcasting sects that cannot be practiced within a normal society: plague, famine, war, death, chaos, despair… for a spellcaster to practice these arts, they must deliberately induce societal collapse. Thus, every evil spellcaster can be considered gravely sinful, and Lala Fatty’s fate is their ultimate destination.

More importantly, these evil sects offer no benefit to productivity. At least necromancy increases corpse recycling efficiency, but plague, famine, war, and chaos? They all reduce productivity!

Even other battle sects, while they might not increase productivity, at least they don’t decrease it!

During the chaotic era when nations bordered each other, these evil arts could be used to defend the homeland. However, now that each nation stands on its own and one needs permission from the Virtual Realm just to travel abroad, state preparedness is entirely unnecessary.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Virtual Realm requires constant combat and the Abyss needs powerful suppression, Ashe has no doubt that battle spellcasters would be considered the lowest on the pecking order (unless they are from a Legendary Sanctuary). Each era has its own prevailing themes, and in a stable society, creation spellcasters are the answer to all versions.

If ordinary battle spellcasters are considered sewer dwellers, then evil spellcasters are undoubtedly the equivalent of the foulest sewers.

Thus, today’s update to the Gospel’s Evil Arts Ranking lists the ten most repulsive sewer spellcasters for the next fifty years. In an era approaching Doomsday, they may not be remembered fondly, but they will certainly be infamous for generations. Each of them exploited social turmoil to orchestrate city-level catastrophes, bringing concepts nearly eradicated by the Gospel—plague, famine, war, chaos—back into the Kingdom.

To be honest, Ashe doesn’t really have a strong stance against the people on the Evil Arts Ranking. He himself has done his share, and Igor has caused city-wide destruction on the Ranking of Schemes, while Harvey has created the top ten necromancer families listed on the Family Ranking. Compared to them, the people on the Evil Arts Ranking aren’t even fit to carry their shoes.

If Ashe truly despised villains, he would activate his violent biker mode and kick the two motorcycles beside him off the highway bridge.

But for one, Ashe believes the Gospel has simply misunderstood Igor and Harvey, and for another, he’s good friends with them, so naturally, he’ll side with his friends. Just as the Gospel constantly maligns him as the Source of Calamity, Igor and Harvey have never doubted him—in fact, Ashe wishes they would doubt him a little, as their unwavering faith makes him feel underestimated.

Just like the Happiness Ranking, the Evil Arts Ranking was instantly nullified by Ashe. That’s why they were racing on the highway bridge—Annan had finally confirmed that all subsequent ranking lists would be nullified more quickly, allowing their “Assassinate the Princess” plan to officially commence. They no longer needed to play house in Fidrola.

However, the actions of “Gospel Ashe” on the Evil Arts Ranking left the original deeply dissatisfied.

If “Gospel Ashe” had coerced, threatened, or even killed the Echoers on the Evil Arts Ranking, Ashe could have accepted it, despite it not quite fitting his personality. ???????

But “Gospel Ashe” chose to make them confess.

Naive to the point of cruelty.

In simple terms, “Gospel Ashe” appeared before the Echoers before they even embarked on their path of dark magic. He implanted vivid scenes of the disasters they would cause in the future, the overwhelming despair of their victims, and the pain inflicted by their evil arts directly into their minds. This forced them to repent for their sins and subsequently end their own lives.

Perhaps the Empire’s Red Hat believed Ashe had performed a good deed this time, or maybe they thought the wanted notice against him had become meaningless. Regardless, they finally canceled the wanted notice, as if encouraging him to continue killing villains and doing good deeds in the future.

Yet, Ashe was most dissatisfied with the Evil Arts Ranking.

If the first three ranking lists misrepresented his character, and the Happiness Ranking twisted it, then the Evil Arts Ranking completely reshaped his character.

In the ranking, “Gospel Ashe” was seen judging the Echoers for crimes they hadn’t yet committed. Not to mention that he had the capability to reform these Echoers, which was far too saintly for Ashe’s tastes—he had no interest in saving potentially fallen souls.

“However, ‘Gospel Ashe’ could have simply killed the Echoers with a single sword strike, whether it was to undermine the Gospel, save the world, or even out of sheer loathing. But instead, he insisted on forcing repentance first, positioning himself as a judge, much like a deity passing judgment on sinners who haven’t yet sinned.”

“If you could judge ‘present self’ based on ‘future crimes,’ wouldn’t Ashe himself be the most deserving of death?”

Within the Evil Arts Ranking, Ashe didn’t see people, only a deity and its playthings.

And unfortunately, ever since his time travel, his role has always been that of a plaything, making “Gospel Ashe” seem like a worker turned traitor in his eyes.

Sensing Ashe’s low spirits, Annan changed the subject, “Look, Nabistin is not far off.”

Ashe lifted his head and saw buildings flickering with blue arcs of light on the distant horizon. The technologically advanced metropolis gradually came into view.

“Is Nabistin just one level?”

“Nabistin has three levels.”

“Huh?” Ashe was taken aback, looking up at Nabistin’s clear and pristine sky. “But—”

“Ashe, do you know why the technology for constructing cities on the second level developed?” Annan asked. “It was because the Yisuo Empress wanted to implement the latest technological advancements in the Imperial Capital.”

“However, renovating and reconstructing the existing city was too troublesome. It was simpler to build a new city, but the Yisuo Royal Family did not want to relocate the capital. Thus, an audacious and miraculous plan was conceived: construct a new city above the original site of the Imperial Capital. Once the new city was built, they would use Earth spells to sink the old city underground and then lower the new city to the ground level. This way, the transition between the old and new capitals could be completed seamlessly.”

“The technology for constructing second-level cities developed due to this and only became fully mature and usable in the last fifty years. Although the Imperial Capital cannot build a second-level city that blocks the sun, it doesn’t matter. The capital has already been renewed twice, so Nabistin has three layers: the lower level, the middle level, and the ground level.”

“Nabistin has stringent checks for outsiders, but that’s just for the ground city,” Annan explained. “The lower city, on the other hand, is a chaotic area without even Red Hats. That is our destination tonight, a gathering place for countless criminals, dreamers, and ambitious individuals.”

At this moment, the sky bridge began to merge into the road below. Three paths appeared before Ashe and his companions: the ground road, the middle tunnel, and the lower tunnel. Under Annan’s direction, they entered the lower tunnel. As they proceeded, the traffic around them increased, including both trucks and hovercars, making them inconspicuous.

After a long journey through the narrow tunnel, they finally emerged into a spacious scene that left them momentarily dazed.

Tall buildings reaching dozens of stories high, giant virtual reality advertisements, drones zipping through the air delivering packages, and the congested flow of vehicles entering the city… if it weren’t for the glowing mushrooms on the ceiling overhead, Ashe and his companions might have believed they had arrived in some bustling city that never sleeps.

At the end of the entrance traffic’s toll bridge, a brightly lit banner hung overhead, its words glowing vividly.

“Welcome to Nabistin’s underworld, the closest place to heaven-Nabistin’s lower city,” Ashe read softly.

After paying the entry fee, the members of Funeral smoothly entered the lower city. Since they were riding motorcycles, no one questioned their full-face helmets.

“Did we get in this easily?” Igor asked incredulously. “Doesn’t Nabistin care at all?”

“On the surface, no. Even if people are wearing hooded cloaks, no one checks,” Annan explained. “Though it’s likely intentional. Being the Imperial Capital, Nabistin pools the most resources from the Gospel, naturally attracting the most antisocial criminals… This place is the Gospel’s largest trash can.”

“I thought Fidrola was already the lowest point of the Gospel,” Ashe commented.

“Fidrola is just backward; here, it’s chaos,” Annan whispered in Ashe’s ear. “The Blood Moon must have similar places to manage unstable elements, right?”

Indeed, Ashe realized the Blood Moon had places like this, but they were prisons combined with War Zones. Unlike the Gospel, which used an entire underground city for this purpose, situated directly below the Imperial Capital—calling it a garbage bin seemed too kind. It was more of a cesspit of the Gospel… although, come to think of it, that comparison wouldn’t exclude himself.

“So,” Harvey chimed in suddenly, “is it likely that the Echoers from the Evil Arts Ranking are here too?”

“Even if they’re not here now, they’ll eventually come,” Annan replied. “There’s no place left for them outside.”

At that moment, a commotion erupted among the surrounding traffic. Many people exited their vehicles and looked up. Someone shouted in terror, “Plague Shadow!”

Ashe and the others glanced up and saw a figure standing on the bridge with the vivid banner. It was a person they all recognized—ranked fifth on the Evil Arts Ranking, ‘Plague Shadow,’ Roger Dior!

About twenty years old with a plain and delicate appearance, Roger was an ordinary spellcaster. Before Doomsday, he primarily trained in Toxic spells; after Doomsday, he shifted to plague spells. By appearances alone, you’d never guess he would go on to create virulent plagues resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths, all to elevate his standing within his sect to the legendary level—a crime of absolute inhumanity.

This future infamous figure stood on the bridge with a vacant expression. He nonchalantly pulled out a dagger and sliced open his chest, revealing a black, beating heart.

Ashe’s mind raced, recalling Roger’s actions in the Evil Arts Ranking after the appearance of ‘Gospel Ashe’…

“After the confession, Roger deeply realized the futility of his existence. Under Ashe’s watchful gaze, he walked to the bridge, tore out his own heart and crushed it. He then triggered a ritual Miracle he would master in the future, infecting himself with the very savage Plague he created. His flesh, bones, and even soul rapidly melted. Like tears of regret, the residue on the ground formed the word ‘SINNER’…”

By now, Roger had begun to melt into liquid, creating corrosive marks on the road, causing the nearby traffic to hurriedly avoid the area. Once Roger fully dissolved into the air, no one dared to come near, only observing the corrosive marks from a distance.

“Sinner…”

“It looks exactly like the scene from the Evil Arts Ranking…”

“It’s that man… it can only be that man!”

“He’s come to Nabistin!”

“The future Calamity Demon Lord, the Doomsday Source of Calamity, the Undying Fiend followed by countless others, Ashe Heath has arrived in Nabistin!”

“He even followed the steps from the Future Ranking, making Roger confess and commit suicide!”

“Destiny is as interwoven as fabric, as steadfast as a rock! The Gospel was correct; everything is set in stone!”

Amid the chaotic and frenzied crowd, the members of Funeral, wearing full helmets, silently observed Ashe, who helplessly shrugged.

“Obviously,” the Cult Leader remarked, “I’ve become the Substitute.”